marijuana economy

In this photo taken Tuesday, May 5, 2015, a marijuana plant grows at a Minnesota Medical Solutions greenhouse in Otsego, Minn. The crop is coming in at Minnesota Medical Solutions, one of two manufacturers who will be supplying the state’s medical marijuana. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

“As I write this on April 20, 2020, I’m impressed by how far the legalization movement has come since Washington and Colorado first voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. I am still alarmed we’ve not yet overturned prohibition at the federal level, but let’s take a look at how far we’ve come.”

“Seventeen states have now legalized cannabis, including Minnesota, Florida, and, surprisingly, Arizona. The third time was a charm for California, which finally legalized weed after ballot initiatives were defeated in both 2010 and 2016. (In each of those elections, competing ballot measures confused and divided the already-stoned masses.)

ECONOMYMarijuana is now a $26-billion-a-year industry, successfully eclipsing organic food, cosmetics, and the NFL in sales. It has also garnered more than $9 billion a year in tax revenue, funding roads, infrastructure, drug education, and the nationwide Green Electric Train system. New Jersey has shown the most dramatic turnaround, from bankruptcy in 2017 to a huge surplus after turning its Jersey Shore boardwalk back into a smoky, lowbrow bacchanal. An often-overlooked benefit of the new economy is jobs, more than 250,000 of which have been created, including web developers, specialized security, and cannabis chefs.

Ben Holmes, owner of Centennial Seeds, shows off his pure Cannabis Indica plants from the Kush region of Afghanistan. Holmes started Centennial in 2009 and has amassed his own seed bank of more than 300 landrace strains of marijuana. His company, based in Lafayette, Colo., is providing the University of Colorado with genetic material for its Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative. (STAFF PHOTO / MICHAEL POLLICK)

Colorado’s grand cannabis experiment has captured the imagination of America. After 75 years of marijuana prohibition, the state’s voters amended their constitution and legalized marijuana in all forms. The results have been remarkable, reports MSNBC.

Denver has surpassed Amsterdam as the capital of the marijuana world. The city has more than 300 stores, called dispensaries, outnumbering pharmacies, liquor stores, public schools and even Starbucks. Still, the demand for legal marijuana and edible products is outpacing supply. Nearly a year after Colorado legalized marijuana, there is still a supply problem for many strains and edible products.

For generations, Americans have been told how legalized marijuana would bring madness, decadence and moral decay. But in Colorado, the reality has been shockingly mundane. Crime statistics are down. Motor vehicle incidents are down. Tourism and marijuana tax revenues are up and the state is nearing total employment. The sky has not fallen. Life as we know it goes on. `